1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an aircraft power situation indicator.
2. Description of Related Art
Flight instrumentation continues to improve, as more and more information becomes available. Terrain elevation data, mapping data, traffic avoidance, and weather information are examples of data that are now routinely provided to pilots during flight. However, as more information becomes available, information overload has increased. It is therefore desirable to limit the display of information only to when it is relevant. This, in turn, has increased the need for the information display to be intuitive, since any information that is presented “part time” is not afforded the luxury of continuous training through familiarity.
While all of these improvements have occurred in the flight instrument regime, power management remains relatively unchanged. This is understandable in the fixed-wing environment, since, simplistically viewed, power is merely an ingredient that ultimately shows its effect in altitude or airspeed.
However, for a rotorcraft, power indication is akin to flight instrumentation in importance. Understanding power in a rotorcraft is essential to properly manage performance, maintain power situational awareness, and prolong component life. Statistics reveal that “internal loss of situation awareness” and “real-time aircraft performance exceeded” are still among the highest causes of fatal helicopter accidents. “Reported power loss” is also among the highest causes of fatal helicopter accidents, although many of these are shown to be unsubstantiated, suggesting that perhaps the pilot did not have a true understanding of how close the power situation was to the limits of operation or authority.